Tuesday, September 28, 2010

We are so excited to be planning the Centennial Celebration for the Antelope Valley District. We have a program being planned with a lot of fun and excitement. However, we will need an approximate head count from your unit as soon as possible so we can plan a budget for this event, and so we know that our efforts won't be in vain.

Monday, September 27, 2010

This course is open to both youth and adults! Bring your unit's youth leaders to establish a youth-led LNT program in your unit. (Minimum age is 14.)

Learn the proper Leave No Trace methods for taking Cub Scout, Boy Scout, and Venturing units camping. As more people use parks and recreation facilities, Leave No Trace guidelines become even more important for outdoor visitors. Leave No Trace is a plan that helps people to be more concerned about their environment and to help them protect it for future generations. Leave No Trace applies in a backyard or local park (frontcountry) as much as it does in the wilderness (backcountry).

This course will be a fun and engaging way to learn the 7 LNT principles and offer opportunities for you to take these exciting methods back to your unit and start teaching LNT right away.

You will learn more about:

How to implement Leave No Trace in your units outdoor program

How to properly present the Leave No Trace skills to your unit and others

What's new in Leave No Trace techniques and how they apply to the BSA program

The BSA's Leave No Trace awards and how members of your unit can earn them

There will be a fee of $25.00 which will cover your materials and Saturday's dinner. The other meals during the course are the responsibility of each participant. The course is open to any Scout (14 years or older), Venturer, or adult Scouter. You will learn the proper techniques for Leave No Trace camping and other activities and have a great time as well! All participants will need to supply their own camping equipment. You should bring a folding camp chair for the course as well. We will be in an outside environment, so dress accordingly. The course will be held rain or shine! Every person attending will receive a LNT Trainers Certificate, patch, written materials, and a CD to take home.

Sunday, September 26, 2010

Please save the date for Oct 15-17 for a weekend of fun and excitement. Antelope Valley District is trying to put together a great program for that weekend, but we need your help.

First of all, we would like to know if your unit would attend this event, and what would the youth like to see there, and as with all activities we need volunteers. What would your unit be able to help with, and would your unit like to help plan this event.

Kathy Rennie is our primary contact for this event and can be reached at (661) 860-9879 or katlady4411@sbcglobal.net. Please let her or myself know by the close of business on Tuesday Sept. 28th. If you are willing to help out and plan this activity, please attend the meeting at Nick's Pizzeria at 6:00pm the evening of Sept. 28th.

Monday, September 20, 2010

The world’s best-loved board game now celebrates 100 years of strong Scouting values, leadership, and fun. Monopoly®: BSA® 100th Anniversary Edition is played just like the original but features a new game board, cards, and money customized for the anniversary. Scout-theme playing tokens include a tent, hiking boot, Scoutmaster cup, backpack, binoculars, and Boy Scout hand sign. This limited-edition game, officially licensed to the BSA by Milton Bradley, is recommended for ages 8 to adult.

Lionel Electric Trains, the premiere model train company, has announced that it will be making a replica of the Union Pacific engine which honors the 100th Anniversary of the Boy Scouts of America. The limited edition train will be featured in Lionel's 2010 Volume 2 Catalog and will be available by the holiday season.

"It is a special privilege for Lionel to be making the UP No. 2010 this year. Lionel has always been proud of our relationships with both Union Pacific and Boy Scouts of America," said Lionel CEO Jerry Calabrese. "When we heard that UP would be honoring the great American tradition of Scouting, we just knew we had to be a part of it."

Bearing the road number 2010 and based on the ES44C model, the engine is only the 14th time in its history that Union Pacific has issued a commemorative train. Lionel's model will emulate the design and artwork of the actual engine. Just like the original UP No. 2010 Boy Scouts of America Locomotive. This engine will feature:

The timeless tale of the miser, Ebenezer Scrooge, will capture the imagination and warm the heart of audiences of all ages, Scrooge will once again be visited by three spirits, who help him realize the error of his ways by taking him on a journey of his life.

The Scout Association of Japan has graciously invited the Boy Scouts of America to their annual SAJ/BSA Friendship Program. Twenty-eight Scouts and six leaders will be selected nationwide to participate.

The Scout Association of Japan will pay for half of the airfare, medical insurance, and all expenses while in Japan for all Scouts and leaders attending. The BSA will pay for domestic travel to the departure point of Dallas/Fort Worth, TX; hotel in Dallas/Fort Worth; luggage; neckerchiefs; and patches. Participant cost ($750 last trip) will be determined very soon.

You need a valid passport - a priority item, and it takes time to get.

I am looking for outstanding Scouts (preferably age 15-17 and Eagle Scouts) who will be able to be away from school for the full trip.

This merit badge requires learning the International Morse Code and flag language. We will be showing different types of code practice gear, how to learn the code with the least pain for the gain, and discuss the schedule for earning this really great historic Merit badge. This one closes on December 31, 2010, so here's your chance.

Also, I am a counselor for the Pathfinding merit badge, Scott Rinaldi is a counselor for the Tracking merit badge, and Dave Hanson is a counselor for the Carpentry merit badge.

Don't miss this great opportunity to earn these centennial merit badges.

Tuesday, September 14, 2010

I would like to inform you that CSUN's Communication Studies Department has a Communication for Youth Institute, which puts together a program to help develop public speaking skills in our youth. The program is held on Saturdays and is designed for 5th through 12th grade. The youth in the program will have the opportunity to work with professionals and students in the field of public speaking, while at the same time allowing them to work on the University campus. My son is a fellow Scouter in Thousand Oaks, so I am well aware of the importance that Scouting places on communication skills. In fact, I am a Communications merit badge counselor, and this program will help Scouts fulfill several of the requirements for the badge.

This PDF contains a registration form as well as a medical form. You must have Part A completed to attend Ordeal. Please arrive at Camp Josepho between 6:00 pm and 8:00 pm Friday, December 3. Pick up time is 8:00 pm Saturday, December 4. The road into Camp Josepho closes at 9:00 pm, please be prompt.

The U.S. Postal Service today gave scouting "a stamp of approval" to honor 100 years of the U.S. Scouting movement. The Celebrate Scouting stamp, which will be sold in the summer of 2010, coincides with the Boy Scouts of America's 100th anniversary.

The new stamp design was unveiled Thursday during an event at the Smithsonian National Postal Museum. The design, created by illustrator Craig Frazier of Mill Valley, CA, depicts the spirit and outdoor adventure of Scouting through a backpacking scout and a large silhouette of a Scout surveying the landscape.

The new Celebrate Scouting stamps will go on sale nationwide and will be dedicated in July 2010 at the Boy Scout Jamboree at Ft. A.P. Hill, VA.

Monday, September 6, 2010

Please join Cub Scout Pack and Crew 921, REI Sporting Goods and the Chatsworth Neighborhood Council for our 6th annual Stoney Point beautification project, by volunteering your time to maintaining a local Valley recreational park area.

We encourage all in Scouting, adult volunteers, families, friends and community members to bring their environmental spirit by helping to eliminate the litter and graffiti and restoring the many pathways enjoyed by so many in the community.

There will be free coffee, bagels and hot dog lunches, donated by the generosity of the Chatsworth Neighborhood Council and Pack and Venture Crew 921. Cub Scout Pack and Venture Crew 921 will be preparing meals after the cleanup, and in respect towards those with special dietary needs, we will also be serving kosher and turkey hot dogs.

This includes training for Tiger, Wolf, Bear, and Webelos Den Leaders.

But wait, there's more-- how about training for Cubmaster, Pack Committee Chairs and Committee Members, and Pack Trainers? That means that everybody and anybody can get trained, there is something for everybody.

Then cap your classroom training off with BALOO, Basic Adult Leader Outdoor Orientation at Camp Josepho. (October 9th, registration to be available later) This is required for at least one adult in order for a pack to do an overnight campout. Are you scoffing at the basic level of this training? Bump up your skills a notch and take the Webelos Outdoor Leader Training. (Overnight, October 8th and 9th, registration available later.)

The really crazy part of this whole thing is that we are offering the classroom training six different times over the next three months. You have two chances a month to get the training that you have always needed and wanted, but have never been able to put on the front burner.

Is Sunday your family day? Do the training on Saturday. Is Saturday your Sabbath? Do the training on Sunday. Are weekends the worst possible time to take the training? Split it up over one weeknight for two weeks. All told, we are giving up six weeknights and three weekends over the next three months to bring you this training.

Don't make us hang out by ourselves; we tend to get into mischief. Join the fun, silliness, excitement, and wisdom of training.